Allison and Tracy Stilwell share views of the studio, garden, as they whirl through their lives...building Artgirlz Nation ,selling Artgirlz Rubber Stamps, wool felt beads, digging gardens, keeping up with the families,watching trash tv, pondering politics and the state of the world...

Friday, September 28, 2007

We have had the most beautiful weather this month. As it flew by my window, the temperature and moisture in the air were the perfect combination. It helped as the flurry and furry of building Artgirlz Nation continued on...jumping swiftly from one project to another trying not to freak out that Houston is less than a month and we've barely started...we have booths, demos, classes, and a slide show to pull together...not to mention product. So far, we have always managed to pull it all together.

On top of that, we have been moving everything out of one side of our basement to have a studio area constructed. Midge and Al seem to be working out a deal on their house so all of us will be moving everything we have around to combine and fit the very top favorite pieces of furniture, art, dishes from their life and ours to create one power house! The good news is that it is right next door! And then there is the garden. With the help of family and friends, last weekend we moved furniture, 20 yards of compost, trees, shrubs, perennials, rocks and of course the famous bathtub!!

So with infinite amounts of patience and strength, we will continue to look at and evaluate every piece of everything we have in our vast collections of everything and move them or get rid of them..and get ready for Houston, finish the article, learn how to use my fancy Bernina, decide on new product, watch football, and hope we have enough witch kits for the world!!!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

It is sunny and sort of chilly here in Rhode Island this morning and I have so much to do it is ridiculous. The last ten days were filled with travel, teaching, contracts and taping our big 3 minutes for tv...

September 7th and 8th turned out to be very hot as Al and I drove up to Topsfield, MA to teach three classes at AbsolutelyEverything. We had a great time checking out Kate's amazing collection of goodies for sale and interacting with a creative group of women that came to work with Artgirlz rubber stamps, wool felt kits and beads and charms. I love seeing what folks come up with during these classes. For example the piece above is created with two dresses stamped and put together...the top one upside down...Al told me to write the artists name so it was in the picture, so now I have to apologize once again that I don't remember her name...I can see her lovely self. The characters on the left were created by owner Kate herself...a very focused, fast acting student!!! Thanks for everything Kate!

We got home late Saturday after driving thru very scary thunder, lightening and rain. We had two days to prepare for a trip to Cleveland where we were going to do a short shoot for the new television program being put together by Quilting Arts. A few others have posted notices about their trips to the set and are linked thru Pokey's blog!

Prior to going we were trying to pick out the suggested wardrobe...no black, no white, no dots, stripes, big prints...have long sleeves, a collar to hide the microphone...and finger nails...not to mention the project that was worthy of the amazing work that is consistently highlighted. Karen the make up artist started on my little head by plucking many stray hairs that make up my eyebrows. When she finished, I had more stuff on my face than I've had since high school musicals...We actually had a great time meeting up with other artists preparing for their segments, being nervous and glamorous...and doing our bit. Everyone was so supportive and encouraging...from makeup to the camera boys...Pokey was a pro by the time we arrived. You can check your local listing at pbs.org...It should be up after Christmas...

We've been trying to figure out a way to do a show that allows a few swear words every now and then....

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

It is a beautiful day here and we are moving along with our tasks...had a relaxing weekend and spent some time with my wool beads and felting needle...see left image. Also last week received photos from Alexis Birkoff with images of the beads she got at the Bead and Button Show. She is an amazing young woman...11 ish with many Artgirl ideas. These are some things she came up with for zipper pulls! Thanks Alexis...keep up the good work!